Orchard heater



Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

o TED ST PAUL G. B LKLEY; or AzUsA, CALIFORNIA.

ORCHARD HEATER.

I '0 allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL G. BULKLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Azusa, in the county of Los Angeles and' State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Orchard Heater, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to orchard heaters adapted to be distributed ingroves or adjacent/trees to prevent injury to the fruit or trees fromfrost and freezing.

The orchard heaters now commonly employed for this purpose are formedwith a fuel reservoir'which is filled prior to lighting with -all of thefuel that can be consumed in the heater at one lighting. In theseheaters combustion takes place at the surface of this body. of fuel andin operation the body of fuel is distilled with the consequentcombustion of the lower boiling point fractions of the fuel and theformation of a considerable residuum. There results an inefficientcombustion of the fuel and the inconvenience of repeatedly'removing. theresiduum from the heater.

' The object of this invention isto provide an orchard heater with aburner enabling.

' the heater to be continuously supplied with fuel .as the same isconsumed and to provide an efficient and efiective combustion of thefuel.

Another object of this. invention is to provide for such a heater 2.burner by which only the fuel in the process of'combu'stion is heatedwhereby distillation and formation of wasteful and objectionableresiduums is eliminated. p

A further object of this invention is to provide acheater having theabove characteristics and so designed that the same will.

be durable and reliable in operation'and simple and economical inmanufacture.

A further object of my invention is to provide a heater of the characterdescribed with an adjustable outlet or cover adapted to radiate the heatat different levels when the heater is in use and adapted to cover andprotect the heater from rain and the like.

during periods of non-use. I

Other objectsand advantages will appear from the following descriptionof one form of device in which my inventionhas been successfullyembodied.

I11 the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the aforesaid device embodying myinvention.

Application filed June 21, 1922. Serial No. 569,930.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section illustrating in detail a portionof burner arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings the orchard heater proper is indicated at 1and is connected by a pipe 2 with a fuel reservoir 3.

The orchard heater 1 is formed with athe periphery of the base 4 andleaving in the base 4 a plurality of apertures or-air inlets 10. Tliesleeve 7 of the burner 5 is closed at its top and is providedwithoutwardly opening perforations or apertures 11 immediately over'theannular fuel receptacle or trough 8.

The stack 6 fits over and is supported on the base 4 by means of anannular shoulder 12 and encloses the burner 5. A cone shaped cover 14 isprovided with'a plurality of depending.- spring arms 15 adapted tofrictionally engage the inner wall of the stack 6 and support the coverin adjusted position on the stack;

The pipe 2 projects through the heater 1 and communicates wth the fuelreceptacle or trough 8. The reservoir 3 carries a controlling lever 16operating a valve 17 in the pipe 2. A

In use. the valve 17 in the pipe2 is kept closed except when it isdesired to ignite the heater. During the periodof likelihood of frost orfreezing the reservoir 3 may be maintained filled with fuel oil. Toignite the heaterthe valve 17 may be opened by the controlling lever 16thereby permitting fuel to flow into the fuel trough where the same maybe ignited. Combustion will be maintained by air entering the ports 10in the base 4.. A portion of the air will rise of fuel is held in thereservoir 3 and only the relatively small amount of fuel in theimmediate process of combustion is subject to the temperature of theheater that objectionable distillation of fuel is avoided. I have foundthat in use the heater illustrated and described herein will operatewith practically complete combustion of the fuel content and without theformation of any substantial residue. This heater, therefore, produces ahotter flame and is more economical inthe consumption of fuel than thetypes now in common use.

The device may be continued in operation until the reservoiril hasbecome emptied and if desired the pipe 2 may be of such length as topermit refilling the reservoir 3 without danger during operation of theheater. It will be appreciated that a plurality of heaters may besupplied with'fuel from a single reservoir by suitable pipe connections.The valve 17 may be adjusted to control the rate of combustion in theheater by regulating the flow of fuel thereto. This is a decided advantage over the heaters now in common use above described, because asthose heaters burn atthe surface of the fuel in the heater reservoiritis not possible to practically adjust the rate of combustion.

During non-use of the heater the cover 14 may be positioned bearingagainst the top of the stack 6 and will serve to protect the heater fromrain or the like. In operation of the heater the cover 1 L may bepositioned at the desired level and maintained at such level by thespring" arms 15. The cover 14 may thus serve to radiate the heat fromthe-stack 6 or spread the flame therefrom (depending on the rate ofcombustion) at any desired level, and further functions as a damper forthe heater.

While I have described the foregoing as an embodiment of my invention,it is to bey fuel receiving receptacle, the sleeve being closed at thetop and apertured to direct air immediately over the fuel receptacle anda stackmounted on the base and surrounding the burner, of a fuelreservoir, means for conducting fuel from the reservoir tothe fuelreceptacle and'means to regulate the quantity of fuel passing from thereservoir to the fuel receptacle.

3. An orchard heater comprising an upright cylindrical base having aplurality of air admitting apertures, a one piece member having anupright cylindrical section forming a draft sleeve of less diameter thanthe diameter of the cylindrical base, said sleeve being closed at thetop and having its lower end turned up and outward to provide an annularfuel receiving receptacle, said sleeve having a plurality ofhorizontally disposed apertures, said fuel receiving receptacle beingadjacent the apertures of said draft sleeve section so that said draftsleeve section directs air directly over the top of the fuel receivingsection, and means for supporting said one piece member within the baseand raised above the bottom end thereof.

4. An orchard heater including a one piece member having an uprightcylindrical draft sleeve section closed at the top and provided withhorizontally disposed apertures the lower end of said sleeve beingturned up and outwardly to provide an annular fuel receiving receptacle,the upper end of which is adjacent said apertures so that air isdirected directly over said fuel receiving trough.

5. An orchard heater including a one piece member having an uprightcylindrical draft sleeve section closed at the top and provided withhorizontally disposed apertures, the lower end of said sleeve beingturned up and outwardly to provide an annular fuel-receiving receptacle,the upper end of which is adjacent said apertures so that air'isdirected directly over said fuel receiving trough, an uprightcylindrical base of greater diameter than the diameter of said annularfuel receptacle and positioned concentric therewith and having aplurality of circumferentially spaced apertures, means supporting saidone piece member upon the base and raised above the lower end thereofand a stack supported upon the base and extending vertically upwardtherefrom.

6. An orchard heater comprising an upright cylindrical base having aplurality of air admitting apertures, and a draft sleeve supportingconcentrically within the base and above the lower end thereof, saiddraft sleeve being of a relatively smaller diameter than the diameter ofsaid base and of a relatively less height than its diameter, the draftsleeve being closed at the top and turned up wardly and outwardly at itslower end to provide an annular fuel receiving trough, said sleeve beingprovided with a plurality of horizontally disposed and circumferentiallyspaced apertures positioned to direct air directly over the top of thefuel receiving trough.

Signed at Azusa, California, this 9th day of June, 1922.

' PAUL G. BULKLEY.

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